Chapter 6: Get Mad AND Get Even
Gerald's House
Mrs. Johanson was sitting with Martin at the table (who was going over the finances) when they saw their oldest son walk into the room.
Jamie O headed for the fridge to grab himself a soda when he heard his mother say "Good morning sweetie. How was your day with Bruce?"
Martin lifted his head from the bills he had been giving his full attention to and added "Yeah, wasn't he supposed to come over here yesterday? You didn't do anything to get yourselves into trouble did you? Because I don't have the money to bail anyone out of jail right now."
"Relax dad. All we did was…"
Before Jamie O could begin explaining his exciting day with his friend to his parents, the family heard another member racing into the room.
"Mom! Dad!"
"What is it sweetie?" Mrs. Johanson asked her worried son.
"Has anyone seen the $328 that was in my room…"
"$328! Where'd you get that kind of money? You better not still be selling those Wacko Watches." Martin demanded to know.
While Jamie O was leaning against the counter sipping his soda, Mrs. Johanson explained "He and his friends took some money they found down to the police station a month ago. When no one claimed it, the police said it was theirs to keep."
"Now someone stole it from me! Man, what am I gonna do?" Gerald pleaded for help, until the family began to hear snickering.
"What's so funny son?" Martin asked his older boy.
"Nothing. I gotta go." Jamie O said, as he left the room.
Gerald stood with his head hanging low as his mom patted him on the back and said "Don't worry sweetie. I'm sure it's around here somewhere."
The now depressed boy slowly dragged his feet out of the kitchen, not having the slightest idea of where it could be.
Martin shook his head at his younger son and said "I hope he handles his money more responsibly as he gets older."
The Boarding House
Arnold walked downstairs expecting to spend another day listening to the remainder of his friends choose how to spend their money.
He entered the kitchen to see Phil working on a stack of pancakes Pookie had already made for him.
"Thanks for joining us Tex! Here's your helping!" Pookie said, placing the food in front of her grandson.
Arnold was about to get started when he heard the phone ring…
RING! RING!
"Hello?"
"Hey there Arnold."
"Oh hey Stinky. You ready for your special day?"
"Actually, I'm gonna be spending my day at the arcade."
"The arcade?"
"Yep! I cashed in half my bills for some quarters. I'm gonna finally get me that high score on Whack-A-Mole."
"Uhhh right Stinky."
"Okay then Arnold. See ya."
"See ya."
The blonde boy hung up the phone to retake his seat at the table. Phil noticed how quiet his grandson was being and asked "Hey, what's the problem there shortman?"
"Nothing grandpa. I'm just curious what we'll be doing today. I thought this would be a fun week for everyone. Now that everyone has their own money, they seem to be bailing on the group one by one."
Phil chuckled at his grandson and asked "Arnold, did I ever tell you about the weekly allowance I used to get?"
"No?"
"Ho boy! Every week my dad gave me a whole quarter! I was so excited to see that thing."
Arnold lifted an eyebrow at his elder and repeated "A quarter, grandpa?"
"Yes sir. Of course it was the 20's. Back then a pack of cigarettes only cost a dime. Anywho, every week I showed Jimmy Kafka the way my allowance grew. We knew soon enough we'd be able to buy that brand new comic book. Finally, I had enough money! On my way to the store, I saw something else."
"What was it grandpa?"
"A brand new yoyo!"
"A yoyo, grandpa?"
"That's right shortman. It was the neatest thing I'd ever seen. I wouldn't have enough money for both that and the comic book though."
"So what'd you do?"
"Jimmy was waiting for me back at his place. When he heard me knocking, he raced to the door to answer. When he saw what was in my hand, his face dropped! I said 'Look at my new yoyo!' A growl released from him the way it does from my stomach after eating your grandma's raspberry cobbler. 'Where's the comic?' he asked. I told him I found something much better to spend the money on!"
"What'd he do grandpa?"
"Hehe...Jimmy slammed the door in my face. He was so mad, we didn't talk for weeks!"
"I don't get it. What's the point?"
"The point is, while it would have been nice to have someone to share that comic with, I knew the yoyo would make me happier. Sometimes all people need is themselves to be happy...that and a wad of bills to go along with it!"
"Thanks grandpa. I think I'll go find Gerald."
"Alrighty then shortman."
Just as Arnold was opening the front door, he saw his friend preparing to knock on it. "Oh hey Gerald. I was just about to go to your place."
Instead of receiving a response from his best friend, Arnold watched a somber expression remain on his face. "Is something wrong?"
Harold's House
Harold was on the floor of his bedroom, enjoying the time spent with his new pet. While he may not have told his mom about it, that didn't stop the kitten from constantly meowing.
The husky boy was happily petting his kitten on the floor until he heard a knock on the door.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
"Harold!"
Clenching his fists at his sides in frustration, Harold whined "What?!"
"I heard that meowing. I do not want another disgusting animal in this house!" Marilyn warned him.
The now sensitive boy picked up the kitten to hold in his arms and pet as he said "Aww mom! Sundae needs me!"
"This one better not belong to anyone. If the police show up again…" Marilyn threatened before her son irritably interrupted her.
"Don't worry. I got him from the pet store, alright? Ahh!"
Nadine's House
Nadine was in the front yard, watching how many insects had already been attracted to the flowers Mrs. Vitello suggested for her.
"Look at all the ladybugs! There's even some hummingbirds!" the nature girl said excitedly.
As she sat outside with her journal, considering everything she'd done to attract them, Nadine began writing her observations…
Based on what I've learned, ladybugs must be attracted to bright colors, considering all the yellow flowers I was given.
I've also never seen them appear in the winter, which must mean they favor warm weather. Of course, I didn't plant a garden until now.
I can only assume they're not poisonous, based on the way I was encouraged to buy flowers that would attract them.
My online research said there were 5000 different species. It would be so cool if I had the right flowers to attract them all. My parents would probably kill me if that happened though.
Walk
Arnold was walking along with his best friend, hoping to comfort him in his time of need. "Don't worry Gerald, it's got to be around here somewhere."
"The last place I had it was in my room! I don't know where it could be man?" Gerald cried out hysterically.
Knowing his friend wasn't normally one to over-react, Arnold motioned for him to relax and said "Calm down Gerald. If it means…"
Before finishing his sentence, Arnold began to notice someone speaking nearby.
Gerald lifted an eyebrow at his friend, not knowing what had him so distracted. "What are you looking at man?"
"I just thought I heard something." Arnold said, as he began to round the corner of the street.
Gerald followed his friend to see Jamie O speaking with Bruce.
The boys shrugged their shoulders at one another, not knowing what they could be discussing.
Other Side of the Street
"Yesterday was great bro!" Jamie O said to his long missed buddy.
Bruce smiled at his old pal and replied "Yeah. It really helped take my mind off some things."
"Sorry all the money's gone. That was all that was in Gerald's room haha…"
"WHAT?!"
The teens then turned to see an angry boy standing behind them with his hands on his hips.
"Oh hey little brother." Jamie O said, not caring if Gerald heard him or not.
While Gerald stood ready to go off on his older sibling, Bruce held his finger to his chin and said "You look familiar."
Arnold then filled in the blanks for everyone and said "We were at the park when our friend Sid hit you with the football. Then we ran into you again at the Roller Rink."
As the teen's memory was coming back to him, Jamie O added on "Yeah bro, this is my little brother, Gerald."
Bruce's eyes then lit up as he replied "Oh yeah! Wow you've really grown up."
No longer caring about his encounter with the angry teen, Gerald glared at his older brother and snapped "I can't believe you man! That was MY money! What were you thinking?!"
"Oh really? I didn't see your name on it." the fit boy taunted with his arms crossed.
"It was in MY room! Why can't you ever just leave my things alone? Why can't I just have one thing that's MINE? One thing I don't have to worry about anyone breaking or stealing? Man!" Gerald stormed off, no longer caring to spend the day with anyone.
Arnold stood speechless. It wasn't his place to yell at Jamie O, and he could see Gerald needed time to cool off. Still, he was the type of person who liked to fix a problem when he saw it.
After deciding there wasn't much he could do at the moment, the blonde boy began heading towards home as Bruce turned to Jamie O and said "I thought Gerald gave you the money?"
Jamie O lifted an eyebrow at his best friend, thinking to himself you're kidding right?
"Why would you think that? You know how much we argue."
While Bruce sighed, knowing it was true, their conflict made him think of his father. Gerald not being able to rely on Jamie O related well to how Bruce felt about Vic. Vic was always stealing and couldn't be trusted.
Sheena's House
The polite girl was in the kitchen reading her new book with a friend she had just invited over.
"Thank you just ever so much for having me Sheena! I'm looking oh so forward to this!" Lila said eagerly.
"It's lovely having you here. I've been hoping to have someone try these new recipes with me.
Grilled Salmon Tacos with Pineapple Salsa
Potato Salad
Warm Black-Eyed Pea Soup
"It sounds oh too delicious! I've been wanting to cook for quite some time now." the redheaded girl admitted.
Setting the book aside, Sheena couldn't help but ask "What have you chosen to do with your share of the money?"
Technically, it was Lila's day to make a decision. Yet, she held a finger to her lip, as if the thought had never occurred to her. "Gosh, I'm certain I'm not sure. There's nothing I've been hoping to get recently."
Arcade
"Hot dang! I hit 'em again!"
Stinky placed in quarter after quarter into the Whack-A-Mole game, hoping to beat his high score. Just when he was about to, he heard an angry voice from behind…
"Man! I don't believe this!"
After turning to see what the commotion was, the country boy turned back to face the game, seeing he missed hitting the last mole. "Aww gee!"
Having decided that was enough for one day, Stinky went over to Runaway Bus Driver and said "Hey there Gerald. What's with you?"
"Nothing Stinky." the irritated boy sighed, hoping the game would take his mind off his problem.
"Well I reckon it must be something. On account of you don't look too happy."
The upset boy then turned to face his classmate and explained "Jamie O stole my share of the money and spent it all on himself! Man, why can't he just leave me alone?!"
After getting that off his chest, Gerald turned back to face the game. Stinky continued to stand nearby after listening to the story and said "Sounds like you got some real family problems. Just like my cousins Stinky and Stinky."
Gerald lifted an eyebrow, never having been told about all the Stinkys in the Peterson family. "Stinky and Stinky?"
"Yep. My family's full of Stinkys. Them cousins of mine were always messing with each other. One day Big Stinky broke Little Stinky's brand new glider plane. It was his favorite toy. Little Stinky was so mad, he decided to get even with Big Stinky by throwing his bike in the street when a car was coming. My uncle wasn't too happy. On account of he had to listen to the driver yell about the damage done to his car."
Gerald sat listening to the story, wondering if he should get even with Jamie O. Would it be worth the trouble, or would he end up regretting it in the end?
Walk
Arnold was on his way home, wishing there was something he could do for Gerald when he bumped into someone...THUMP!
The blonde boy fell to the ground, holding the part of his head he hit until he heard
"ARNOLD!"
"Oh sorry Helga." he sighed, lending her a hand up.
The vexed girl then shook her head and snapped "I mean, watch where you're going football head!"
As she watched him continuing to stand there rubbing his head, guilt began to run through her. "Ptss...did I hit you that hard?"
Arnold looked up, realizing how zoned out he had become and said "Huh? Oh no, I was just thinking about something."
"Of course Mr. 'Can't keep my head out of the clouds.' So where's Geraldo? Shouldn't you two be spending your share of the money on comics and video games?" Helga sneered.
The troubled boy then let go of his head as he looked towards the ground and sighed "Actually, Gerald's brother stole his money."
Helga rolled her eyes at the explanation and leered "Oh brother. And you people wonder why I don't leave mine laying around."
"Yeah, well I better be going. See ya Helga."
The pigtailed girl stood watching her beloved walk away, wishing there was something she could do to cheer him up. While Gerald's dilemma didn't bother her, she never enjoyed seeing Arnold upset. Although she didn't want him knowing it, she did whatever she could to make his problems her problems. Her mind couldn't rest knowing his wasn't at ease.
Gerald's House
Gerald walked inside with a somber expression, ready to head upstairs. On his way down the hall, he heard something in the other room…
"Check out my new weights bro!"
Bruce looked around at all the fitness merchandise his friend owned. Jamie O was no different than he was when they were kids.
"I guess you've been training a lot recently?"
"Heck yeah! I gotta stay in shape!" the fit teen said, as he stood from his seat.
Gerald was listening from the hallway when an idea struck him…
Ruining his equipment would be the perfect way to get back at him!
The Boarding House
Arnold laid on his bed, staring at the stars through the ceiling, thinking about how messed up the week had gotten. Maybe it would have been better if they never found the money.
The blonde boy then heard his phone begin to ring…
RING! RING!
"Hello?"
"Hey man."
Arnold smiled after hearing his friend's voice. It sounded as though he was in a better mood.
"Hey Gerald. What's up?"
"I just called to say I can't hang out tomorrow. If you want to spend your share of the money on something without me, that's cool."
"But Gerald…"
"I gotta go."
Arnold hung up the phone, feeling that was a bit strange. He understood if Gerald was still upset with Jamie O, but he sounded anxious to end the phone call. Was there something he was hiding from him?